CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
WACO, Texas - Semifinal matchups of the 2015 Big 12 Tennis Championship are set after two days of action in Waco. Baylor, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech advanced on the women's side while Baylor, Oklahoma, TCU and Texas will compete on the men's side tomorrow.
The first two matches of Friday’s quarterfinal action opened at Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center due to rain in the area. Following the morning session, play was resumed at Hurd Tennis Center.
On the men's side, No. 4 Texas (19-5) opened the morning’s action against No. 5 Texas Tech. The Longhorns, ranked No. 10 nationally, fended off several rallies from an upset-minded Red Raider squad to advance with a 4-1 victory. Soren Hess-Olesen led the way at No. 1 singles with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Hugo Dojas.
Texas will face Oklahoma, ranked No. 1 nationally, in the semifinals at noon on Saturday. The Sooners and No. 2 Baylor received byes to the semis.
In the afternoon, No. 3 TCU (21-6) took down the No. 6 Oklahoma State men (16-9), 4-0. The Horned Frogs took a 3-0 lead, before rain delayed action for just less than an hour. When the match resumed, TCU’s Arnau Dachs was able to finish off his match with Lukas Finzelberg at No. 5 singles to win 6-3, 6-3 and clinch the victory for the Horned Frogs.
Saturday’s men’s semifinals will feature four teams ranked in the top 10 nationally, as No. 1 Oklahoma takes on No. 10 Texas, while No. 2 Baylor faces No. 6 TCU. Both matches will be played at noon.
Third-seeded Oklahoma State and No. 6 Kansas opened the morning’s action on the women’s side, with the Cowgirls (21-4) earning a 4-0 sweep. Viktoriya Lushkova, ranked No. 16 nationally, led the way and No. 1 singles with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over KU’s Belen Luduena.
Once rain cleared the area, No. 2 Texas Tech and No. 7 Oklahoma hit the riverside courts at Hurd Tennis Center. The Red Raiders (17-5) completed a 4-0 sweep of the Sooners, finished off by No. 73-ranked Lynn Kiro winning a second-set tiebreaker, 7-0, to defeat Christie Brigante at No. 4 singles.
No. 1 seeded Baylor also put together a 4-0 sweep when they took their home courts against No. 9 Kansas State. The Bears took three of the matches in straight sets, and one due to injury default at No. 3 singles. Baylor’s No. 22 ranked Ema Burgic, the conference’s second-highest ranked singles player, won a 6-0, 6-1 decision against Carolina Costamagna at No. 1 singles.
In the final women's match of the day, No. 4 TCU and No. 5 Texas provided a nail-biter for those in attendance. With the Longhorns holding a 3-2 lead, TCU sophmore Seda Arantekin found herself trailing 2-0 in what could have been the decisive set. The Istanbul, Turkey, native rallied to give the Horned Frogs life with a 6-4 set win to tie the match at 3-3 and send action to doubles for the first time on Friday.
In doubles action, the No. 3 TCU pairing of Sofiko Kadzhaya and Simona Parajova got the Horned Frogs a 6-4, and one match away from a spot in the semifinals. The No. 2 pairing of Palina Dubavets and Alexis Pereira slammed the door shut with a 6-4 win of their own. TCU will face host Baylor at 3 p.m. Saturday on the grandstand courts at Hurd Tennis Center
All six matches on Friday were played with singles action first, and doubles only to be played out should singles play end in a 3-3 tie.
Both men’s semifinal matches will begin at Noon CT, while the women’s action is slated to start at 3 p.m.
2015 Big 12 Women’s Tennis Championship - Quarterfinals
No. 3 Oklahoma State def. No. 6 Kansas, 4-0
No. 2 Texas Tech def. No. 7 Oklahoma, 4-0
No. 1 Baylor def. No. 9 Kansas State, 4-0
No. 4 TCU def. No. 5 Texas, 4-3
2015 Big 12 Men's Tennis Championship - Quarterfinals
No. 4 Texas def. No. 5 Texas Tech, 4-1
No. 3 TCU def. No. 6 Oklahoma State, 4-0